Paradox

PROLOGUE

It's been eight months ever since she got married. Eight months ever since she succumbed to yet another constricting lifestyle. Every obstacle seemed too hard to encounter now. When she felt she could finally take a sigh of relief and get away from her excruciatingly hard slave like life, she felt yet another storm come knock her door.

Taranya turned towards the door which opened, revealing her husband, Arjun, whom she got married to, eight months ago. He was five years older to her. He had an intimidating nature. He was quiet, minded his own business, spoke when spoken to, and showed irritation at the slightest things.

Being the eldest, he had tanks full of responsibilities. Just one year away from hitting thirty, he didn't care about getting married. He didn't care about the neighbouring 'Sharma aunty' who went around from house to house giving advice to people to get their children married, when her own marriage was a failure. 

Taranya looked back to the clothes that she was folding. She followed his orders that he had imprinted into her brain in one go.

"I don't care what you do here in my family. But I do care if you interfere in my business. I'll be talking to you only when necessary and I expect the same from you. So kindly stay out of my life."

Instead of listening to her husband whisper sweet nothings in her ear on the first day of her marriage, she heard these awful words pour out of his mouth like waterfall. She remembered him walking away to his office in his crisp black suit as if his words meant nothing.

Normally in an oppressive household, we tend to act in two different ways. Either we turn rebellious and stop caring about what others have to say about us, or we don't stand up for ourselves at all.

Sadly, Taranya turned out the latter way. She wanted to stand up on her own feet. She wanted to shoo away all her insecurities and fears. She wanted to forget about every bad thing that happened to her. She wanted to just let go of every single thing, so that she could start a new life. 

She saw this ray of hope within Arjun. When her mausaji forcefully made her accept this proposal, she felt something stir inside her. It made her feel that this proposal wouldn't bring her the happiness that she desired for. But somewhere she thought that maybe, just maybe, her husband would actually want her in his life.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Because he just drained all her hopes from this marriage in a jiffy.

This time she didn't fight for anything. She just went along with however life is. She didn't know what to do anymore.

To the world she had the most magnificent wings. Yet she felt disgusted by them. The mere sight of them reminded her of the reality of her life. Others saw the aesthetic beauty of her wings- of her smile. But she saw how her wings were bounded by the shackles of slavery. But of course, nobody could see it- because as the famous quote goes by- 'Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder'.

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"What the hell is your problem, Isha!", yelled Abhiraj. "Why can't you get this into your thick head that I. DON'T. NEED. YOUR. HELP!"

Isha looked at her husband with fearful eyes. Every day she got yelled at by him. Every single day!

For what you may ask? For settling his stuff in an organized way, for going all the way to his office just to give him his food that he forgot to take, for staying up late to give him his dinner very well knowing that he can have his food himself, for picking out his clothes yet him never wearing them to office.

He was capable of doing everything himself. Still, she couldn't stop herself from not following her wifely duties. She wasn't the kind who believed her husband to be her 'pati parmeshvar'. He wasn't equivalent to God. No. She was simply in love with him.